Type-05A Akatsuki (Divergence Point)
The Type-05A Akatsuki '''is the primary Knightmare Frame of the United Federation of Nation's Order of Black Knights military force. It is the true mass-produced version of the '''Type-02 Guren Mark-II '''and successor to the limited produced '''Type-03F Gekka. An Eighth Generation Knightmare Frame the Akatsuki is produced in similar numbers as the Britannian RPI-212B Vincent Ward 'and Orb's 'MBF-04A Lancer. Appearance The Type-05A Akatsuki looks like a simple version of the Type-03F Gekka first used during the First Black Rebellion. Therefore, while it is clearly heavily based on the Gekka appearance wise it is simplified for mass production. The early paint job of the Akatsuki is a simple pale green and light gray. The Akatsuki would stay in these colors for the Second Black Rebellion and would be replaced by a new color scheme as the Black Knights started to integrate other military forces into the Black Knights from the member-nations of the United Federation of Nations. This new scheme would be a basic black with light gray highlights. Design The design of the Akatsuki is heavily based on the successful Gekka and sports a simplified design with it tuned down a bit for regular pilots but still being superior over old Knightmare Frames like the Burai. Even then despite this, the Akatsuki is quite an excellent machine with it being slightly better, on paper, then both the Britannian RPI-212B Vincent Ward and Orb's MBF-04A Lancer the other Eighth Generation mass produced contemporaries. Like all of the Eighth Generation Knightmare Frames, the Akatsuki can be equipped with a Float Capable flight pack for airborne combat thanks to the needed upgrades in the cockpit and Yggdrasil Drive. For the Akatsuki, this is the Type-F2D Air Glide Wing System which provides better stability and slightly better maneuverability over the Britannian FA-7 Series Float Backpack though the W/E-F4 Air Glide Wing Backpack developed by Orb does sport better stability but less straight line speed than the original Type-F2D. For weapons, the Akatsuki mounts the same chest-mounted Slash Harken as its predecessors and a simplified, cheaper, version of the Gekka's "Katen Yaibatou" Sword which can fold up to be stored in a storage rack on the waist of the Knightmare. It should be noted though that a few Akatsuki's used by veteran pilots use the regular "Katen Yaibatou" Sword. As for optional weapons, the Akatsuki has a series of different weapons that can be mounted onto either arm of the knightmare along with a couple of handheld weapons. Armaments Fixed Weapons Type-04A2 "Hien Souga Type-II" Slash Harken A new type of Slash Harken first pioneered by the Guren Mk-II which is smaller then previous Britannian designed Slash Harkens. This is mainly to make it more of a close combat weapon than a piece of equipment that can double as a weapon when needed. The Type-04A2 type is a bit more simplified version of the original "Hien Souga" Type Slash Harken found on the Guren Mk-II and the Gekka. Type-01A3 "Katen Yaibatou Type-III" Sword A mass produced version of the original "Katen Yaibatou" Sword used by Colonel Kyoshiro Tohdoh and his Four Holy Swords on both their Burai Kais and later their Gekkas. The Type-III version is basically a fold-able baton with a blade at its end. This is to make it easier to mass produce in larger numbers, therefore, the primary close-range weapon of the Akatsuki though some units are known to use the Type-II Blade used by the Akatsuki Command Types. Optional Arm Mounted Armaments Type-05A2 20mm Double-Barreled Arm Mounted Gun A new larger version of the earlier Arm-Mounted Guns used by the Guren Mk-II and the Gekka which sports Duel-Barrels instead of a single barrel of the earlier types. This makes it easier to destroy enemy Knightmares but as a result, it also runs through ammo faster. Can be mounted on either the right or left arm of the Akatsuki depending on pilot preference. However, unlike the Type-05A1 Gun, this Gun cannot be mounted on both arms due to the weight of the weapon. Type-05A1 25mm Single-Barrel Mounted Gun A mass produced counterpart to the earlier single-barrel arm mounted guns on the Guren Mk-II and Gekka which are produced as a more powerful, less ammo intensive version of the Type-05A2 Arm-Mounted Gun. Can be mounted on either arm of the Akatsuki or even mounted on both arms if needed. Type-06A1 40mm Heavy Arm Mounted Bazooka One of the handful of new weapons developed for the use of the Akatsuki and is basically a Japanese version of the Britannian produced KMF-W9A Heavy Bazooka just able to be mounted on the arm just like other weapons of the Akatsuki. Like any other bazooka weapon, this weapon can be equipped with standard explosive rounds or anti-air flak rounds. Type-06A2 45mm Heavy Arm Mounted Cannon ''' A slightly larger, longer-barrel, version of the Type-06A1 Bazooka that sports a heavier round and is developed for direct anti-airship combat. One-Shot from this weapon in a vital area or the Float Unit is often enough to bring down an enemy airship. However, due to the weight of this weapon, it is not often equipped with the Akatsuki and is often equipped by the Type-11H Burai Heavy instead. '''Type-07A2 Three-Shot Missile Launcher The second of the new weapons designed for the use of the Akatsuki and is a simple arm mounted three-tube missile launcher. This launcher is able to use either regular explosive rocket grenades or the new Radiant Wave Missiles though the later is only really used by the Command Type Akatsuki. Often the standard armament of an Akatsuki would be this weapon and the Type-05A2 Double-Barrel Arm Mounted Gun. Other Optional Weapons Type-07A3 12-Tube Missile Launcher ''' Another new weapon developed for the use of the Akatsuki and is developed for aerial combat. It is an optional unit that is mounted on top of the Type-F2D Air Glide Wing System and sports twelve missile tubes which can either fire all at once or one at a time. It was deployed just in time for the start of the Liberation of Japan by several Akatsuki Command Types before becoming standard on all other units after the end of the Second Black Rebellion. A variant of this unit was developed for the use of the Type-0/0 Shinkirou at the request of Black Knight Supreme Commander Zero. '''Type-07A4 5-Tube Missile Launchers After witnessing and hearing about the wing-mounted missile-packs used by Orb's MBF-04A/F4 Lancer Flight Types Chawla Design Group would introduce their own versions of this weapon. The Type-07A4 is basically a small five-tube missile launcher that can be mounted on top of the upper-wings or below the lower wings of the Type-F2D Air Glide Wing System. The missiles used by these weapons are the same type used by the larger Type-07A3 Launcher just with an extended booster section. Thanks to the lower weight of these weapons the regular Akatsuki Flight Types often use these launchers instead of the heavier Type-07A3 Launcher. Type-10/S2 Radiant Wave Lance ''' A weapon originally developed by Rakshata Chawla at the request of Black Knight ace pilot Rai Adonis after the Battle of Narita when Rai found he liked using an Anti-Knightmare Jousting Lance he had picked up from a dead Gloucester during the course of the battle. The Type-10/S2 is an improved version of this original weapon which bears more resemblance to a typical Britannian Jousting Lance than the original did. However, besides a handful of former exiled Britannian and Europian pilots that have been integrated into the Black Knights during the formation of the United Federation of Nations this weapon is not often used. System Features '''Type-2A3 "Kou Kisou Kudourin" Landspinner Propulsion System A similar system to Type-2A1 System first used by the Guren Mark-01 and later improved in the Guren Mark-02 which would be carried over to the Type-03 Gekka. This version is tuned down for mass production and to work in conjunction with the Type-F2D Air Glide Wing System. Type-E2A Mono-Eye Sensor Camera A system that is based heavily on the earlier Type-E1B Mono-Eye Sensor Camera that was used by the Type-03 Gekka and its variants. Unlike Britannian Knightmares and the older Type-10R Burai which use the Factsphere series camera system, this new Mono-Eye Sensor Camera combines both the high-intensity sensor camera provided by the Factsphere and the regular sensor system which makes it easier to produce in large numbers. Type-F2D Air Glide Wing System A new type of Float System first developed by the Chawla Design Group after studying the non-standard three-winged integrated Float System of the Sixth Generation Prototype Knightmare Frame IFX-V3D1 Gawain. The Air Glide Wing System would be the result of this study. It would be first used by the refitted Type-02/F1A Guren Mark-II Flight-Enabled Version before being mass produced for the use of the rest of the Black Knights new Knightmares, including the Type-05A Akatsuki. When equipped the Akatsuki is noted as Type-05/F2D Akatsuki Flight-Enabled Version''. '' Type-P3A Arm Mounted Shield ''' A new piece of equipment introduced for the Akatsuki after the Liberation of Japan which is heavily based on the Type-11R Burai Mark-II Type-P2E Arm Shields. It is equipped with a single Type-03A1 Slash Harken, based on the XE/15 Slash Harkens used by the XT-409 Shen Hu, at the front of the unit and a single Type-8E Radiant Wave Shield Emitter on top of the unit. This unit when combined with an arm-mounted weapon on the opposite arm gives the Akatsuki an improved chance in combat. Variants Type-05S/G Akatsuki Command Type The Type-05S/G Akatsuki Command Type, or often called the '''Akatsuki Zikisan, is the ace-level/commander use variant of the Akatsuki which sports similar performance to the older Gekka then the regular Akatsuki. It is equipped with a standard radiant wave shield emitter which allows it to survive in combat far better than the regular Akatsuki model. Production wise there is a single command type per six regular Akatsuki which usually made these units only used by squadron leaders but a few units are solely made out of these units which are ace-level units like the expanded Zero Guard. Another unit notable for the use of the Command Type is Tora Squadron, a unit of veteran pilots originally from the Japanese Liberation Front who had followed Tohdoh and his Holy Swords in joining the Black Knights during the First Black Rebellion. After the Black Knight betrayal of their leader Zero, Zero Guard and the other followers of the exiled Zero would continue to use the handful of Akatsuki Command Types alongside many Type-11R Burai Mark-IIs for a couple months till the introduction of the MBF-04A Lancer and MBF-05 Halberd which replace these units. Type-05E Akatsuki Special Operations Type A variant of the regular Akatsuki that is developed for the use of special operations and intel-gathering missions. It is highly based on the Command Type and the Type-0/0A Shinkiro which gives this variant Radiant Wave Shielding along with a transformable fortress mode. Not to mention a head and sensor system based heavily on the Guren Mark-II. This allows the Akatsuki Special Operations Type to not only go anywhere in the world both in the air and underwater but possesses one of the highest sensor ratings of any Akatsuki Variant which combined with a new type of Gefjun Disturber that cloaks this knightmare from human eyes as well as sensors it is truly able to go anywhere without anyone the wiser. This variant is typically used by the Black Knights Shinobi Corps, the new Black Ops group of the UFN, who use it for special operation missions across the world for a variety of different purposes. From regular old assassination missions to gathering intelligence on potential enemies. That said, only a handful of these units have been produced due to their price and no real need for more than a handful active. Type-05C Akatsuki Exportation Type After the end of the Second Black Rebellion and the liberation of Japan, the United Federation of Nations and the Black Knights start to really integrate the forces drawn from other member-states of the Federation. As part of this policy, the Chawla Design Group licensed out its Akatsuki design to couple different developers across the new Federation. The result of this is the Akatsuki Exportation Type which sees it produced by a couple other different factories from across the Federation. There are minor changes done to the design to make them different from the regular design that is built almost entirely from factories on Horai Island and to make them easier to produce outside of the Chawla Design Group. That said, other then some internal differences there is nothing all that different from the regular A-Type and this new C-Type Exportation Type. XT-401 Chu Yen The XT-409 Shen Hu Seventh Generation Prototype had long been a tough machine to pilot, therefore, like many other Seventh Generation Prototypes it took a very special-brand of a pilot to be able to pilot such machine to its full extent. Unlike its near-sibling the Guren Mark-02 which managed to be assigned to its needed pilot right off the bat the Shen Hu took a couple years before a pilot capable of piloting it fully would be found. This pilot would be General Li Xingke who would use it against the Black Knights during their operations in the Chinese Federation and later with the Black Knights during their operations to form the new United Federation of Nations. Thanks in part to the data gathered by General Li during these operations along with data on the first deployment of the Type-05 Akatsuki Chawla Design Group would be able to produce a limited produced version of the Shen Hu for the use of elite pilots hand-picked by the General to serve as his personal squadron. This version would be the XT-401 Chu Yen which is basically built on a modified Akatsuki-based frame making it not only a variant of the Shen Hu but the Akatsuki as well. The Chu Yen is equipped with the same arm-mounted slash harkens as the Shen Hu along with an extendable quarterstaff weapon, though this can be replaced with Shen Hu's short sword, along with the option of equipping the basic arm-mounted weapons of the Akatsuki if needed. History The Type-05A Akatsuki is a new design developed from the Type-03F Gekka that was first introduced mid-2018 a.t.b where it takes part in the battles against the Eunuch Generals in the Chinese Federation along with their new Britannian friends where they would go against the Chinese TQ-19 Gun-Rus and TQ-25 Yaoguai, and Britannian RPI-212B Vincent Wards and RPI-13 Sutherlands where they would perform quite well utterly destroying the inferior Chinese-built Knightmares and fighting on equal terms with the Britannian Vincent Wards. Soon after these battles the Akatsuki would start to use the new F2D Air Glide Wing System in increasing numbers till the Liberation of Japan where every single unit would use it. From then on the Akatsuki would remain as the primary Knightmare of the new United Federation of Nations and its Black Knights military force being piloted by people from everywhere around the Federation from Russia to Taiwan from Japan to the former Middle Eastern Kingdoms these Knightmares would truly be one of the most well-known designs in the world thanks to this. Notes and Trivia * Basically an expanded version of the canon Type-05A Akatsuki design from the series with extras thrown in to make some better sense in some areas. Category:Knightmare Frames Category:Divergence Point Knightmares